nra president and ceo is also scheduled to testify. we'll be watching that four on nbc news. >> severe weather rocked the nation last night. winds up to 70 miles per hour cut through mobile homes along with snapped power poles, a roof blown hoof a warehouse. bill karins has the complete forecast coming up in just a few minutes. major reaction to the president's immigration overhaul and determination to fast track new laws. he stated now is the time to fix a broken system. republican lawmakers are warning there's only so farther willing to compromise on this issue. tracie potts joins us with more. where don't they agree on this? >> reporter: richard a couple of areas where we think they won't agree, we got two manassas on the table now both with the same broad goals. what we don't know in those areas of disagreement that you talk about are in the details.

starting today lawmakers iron out differences between their plan and president obama's how long it will take for people living here illegally to become citizens. >> it won't be a quick process but a fair process and it will lift these individuals out of the shadows. >> reporter: immigrants says five years is enough but lawmakers want to make sure the borders are secure first. that could take longer. >> if this endeavor becomes a bidding war to see who can come the fastest and cheapest way to a between card this thing won't go well. >> reporter: the white house want same sex immigrants to apply just like all other families. conservatives may have issues with that. some still aren't sold on the idea allowing 11 million illegal workers stay here at all. >> we believe in immigration but we believe in the law.

we shouldn't be rewarding those who violate the laws. >> reporter: groups pushing reform want to see it happy. >> we want to see it done this year. >> reporter: a solution for the nation. there's a difference bipartisan group of lawmakers that have come up with a measure that would allow people who are in this country, foreign workers, hi-tech workers to stay. richard? >> so for california's economy. john kerry will be the official secretary of state. only three opposed. senator kerry immediately submitted his resignation to massachusetts governor who later today will announce his choice to replace kerry on an interim basis. a new election will be held june

25 25th. >> s.e.c. clinton reflected on her time in office. >> what do you think didn't go well? what went wrong? >> well, benghazi went wrong. you know, that was a terrible example of trying to get the right balance between being in a threatening place or not being there. >> reporter: when she campaigned against barack obama, she said she was better prepared to handle world crisis. >> there's a phone in the white house and it's ringing. >> when that phone call rings at 3:00 in the morning who is best prepared to answer it in 2016? >> well, that is to be decided by the american people. but one thing i've learned the phone rings day and night. >> reporter: but after a fall damaged her left eye temporarily requiring glasses with a special prism will health be a factor? >> i'm healthy enough and my stamina is good enough i'll be fully recovered to do whatever i choose to do.

but i don't have any decisions made. that was nbc's andrea mitchell. >> north korea says it's readying another rocket. south korea successfully launches its first rocket. seoul has tried and failed numerous times to put a satellite into space from its own territory but today pressure was on to match the north which many believe has rockets that can reach the u.s.'s west coast. >> tornadoes sweep the center and southern u.s. overnight. bill karins our meteorologist here. >> a storm that two days ago was on the west coast and now causing all sorts of problems through the heartland. we knew this was going to happen. yesterday these temperatures, these were the high temperatures yesterday. look at the warm air surging from the south. it was 80 degrees all the way up to dallas at the end of january. at the same time the cold air was coming back in behind this. that's the ingredients for a severe weather outbreak like you see in march. that's what happened last night. it continue this morning. we had over 200 reports of

severe weather and these blue dots is where we had wind damage reports. this is continuing through kentucky, tennessee and the deep south. some tornado watches out there. anyone traveling to the east coast, major airport delays are expected in atlanta later this morning and eventually this ann right up in the big cities of the northeast. as far as the west coast pretty quiet. high pressure slowly trying to build in. still kind of the clouds and moisture falling in here to the northwest and the jet stream and will continue with showers and a little bit of elevation snow. not at that lot. i-5 north of portland biggest concentration of some of those showers and light rain. the forecast today, a few chances of showers and wet weather. not too bad in the northwest. beautiful sunshine, little bit on the chilly side, phoenix, vegas to ntain snow at least in

california in the near term. besides the big storm in our country, australia still dealing with their dangerous flooding after the cyclone that truck. forced 4700 people from their homes. 1,000 people had to be rescued by helicopter. no power in most region. be careful about the drinking water. when you rescue people by helicopter you know it's serious. >> we can i've with that. how long will this last? couple more days? >> have to wait for the rivers to recede. >> thanks. a 16 mile stretch of the mighty mississippi is closed halting trade for dozens of ships. and a new blackberry 10 unveiled. and a million cars recalled. new york city's billionaire mayor gave vice president joe biden a compliment that any man can be proud of. you're watching "early today."

welcome back.

a hostage situation that started more happen 16 hours ago is still ongoing in southern alabama this morning. authorities say a school bus driver has been fatally shot and a 6-year-old boy success held in an underground bunker. yesterday the afternoon suspected gunman boarded the bus and kidnapped the child shooting the driver in the process. the death toll has risen to 234 in the brazil nightclub fire with many survivors still hospitalized including about 75 in critical condition. investigators say the pyrotechnic flare used during the band's performance that apparently started the fire was for meant for outdoor use only. not indoors. a 60-mile stretch of the mississippi river is still clos as crews try to clean up leaking crude oil spilled in a barge accident on sunday. close to 50 barges and others are waiting for the river to open. a medical miracle story of a u.s. army veteran who lost all four of his limbs and underwent a remarkable transplant procedure.

six weeks ago brendan received a new pair of arms. >> now, i can move my elbow. i can rotate a little bit. this arm is pretty much not much movement at all, not yet. >> the very driven man said he's getting a second chance and his goal is to some day compete again in sports but mostle all he just wants to drive his car. new york city michael bloomberg had some high praise for vice president joe biden telling politico quote, you know joe biden, you can joke about him all you want but he's got a set of -- yeah and he says what he believes and he forced the focus on gay marriage. end quote. high praise. the dow is approaching 14 k after rising 72 yesterday. the s&p and nasdaq were mixed. overseas trading saw it boost. the nikkei shot up 247 points while the hang seng climbed 166

to fin injury today. it's a busy day ahead on wall street. this morning we'll see if amazon stock don't rise. i want shot up after the bell thanks to strong quarterly profits. also keep an eye on chesapeake today the energy company got a late news on embattled ceo is stepping down and will leave the company april 1st. also new this morning toyota is recalling more than 1 million vehicles for to separate issues one dealing with potential airbag issues in some 2003 and 2004 corollas. others involved windshield wipers. lots of buzz on research and motion when the long awaited blackberry 10 is released at 10:00 a.m. eastern this morning. the first two models include an all touch screen version and a hybrid width keyboard. the "new york times" is reporting boeing was aware of problems with its dreamliner batteries before recent fires grounded its recent fleet of 787s.

officials at nip upon airway said they had to replace ten batteries in their planes but safety regulators were not informed because no flights were scaled. a judge accept ad plea agreement by bp over its role in 2010 in that gulf oil disaster. how about a beer to wash down twinkie. the own of pabst blue ribbon are close to a $400 million teal for ho hostess brand twinkies. and the dallas cowboys are a distant second at 2.1 billion. and here's a solution for china's air problem. canned air. straight ahead media day for the ravens and 49ers had a few surprises including randy moss's pick for twraetest wide receiver

ever. a courtroom hearing gets ugly fast. another reason cooking or rather smoking cigarette kansas be deadly. getting ready to feed the troops on super sunday. you're watching "early today."

now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we start in ohio where a courtroom attack was captured on camera. a man went on a rampage as his ex-girlfriend was seeking an order of protection against him. the attacker shoved his own

grandmother as he chased the victim and beat her until police subdued him with a stun gun. next to texas and an explosion ignited by a couple in a storage facility that were smoke. the pair were trespassing when they decided to light up over the storage container. flames erupted causing both to suffer critical injuries. in florida, nik wallenda battled heavy winds as he completed his 600-foot trek across a 200-foot high tight rope. even more amazing the daredevil performed the high-wire act without a safety harness. in chicago slices of home were shipped from the windy city to 21,000 of service men and women in kuwait and afghanistan. illinois governor and pizza 4 patriots teamed up to send the troops a massive order of deep dish pizza scheduled to arrive just in time for super bowl sunday. >> in missouri a mother and son received be a special delivery from afghanistan. serviceman andrew wall shipped his four-legged friend after finding him on the streets.

he'll not be without his best friend for a while. wall returns home at the end of february. turning to sports. new allegations again a-rod. major league baseball is investigating reports that yankees star alex rodriguez bought human growth hormones from a clinic in florida. the miami times said four other major league players appear in records of the clinic which is now closed. a spokesman said quote, any purported documents released in the story at least as they relate to alex rodriguez are not legitimate. baltimore ravens linebacker ray lewis who will retire after the super bowl also denied using a substance to speed recovery from a torn tricep in october. randy moss of the san francisco 49ers said he is the best wide receiver to ever play in the national football league. what about rice? i think he has something to say about that.

just ahead, entourage is off to the silver screen. and split screen, which one is steve jobs and which one is ashton kutcher? this is "early today" on nbc.

>> welcome back. the "30 rock" series finale just got more delicious. ben and jerry's will introduce an ice cream flavor during a wrap party on thursday. you can only speculate what the flavor will be. liz lemon meringue or jack.

speaking of jack donaghy, e! news is reporting alec baldwin and his wife are expecting their first child. a close friend of hilaria's said it's true. warner brothers has reportedly given the go ahead to the movie version of "entourage" the hit hbo show about an up-and-coming movie star. deals are being made with all of the regular cast members, though none of them seem to be very busy. >> jim nabos tied the knot of his partner of 38 years. the two traveled from their home in honolulu to washington state. and justin bieber and a photo touching a young woman on his fansite. bieber's rep said it's ridiculous and it definitely did not happen. although kind of tough the dispute in that picture. and ashton kutcher tweeted

himself a picture of a middle hj aged steve jobs. which side do you think? >> right side. >> is jobs. >> jobs on the right. left side is kutcher. it's the shape of the face. >> it's not that easy. >> no, it ain't. the next one comes from kcb news in lubbock, texas one man went online to win the girl of his dreams. >> my name is luke guffy. look at yourself. now back at yourself, now back to you. sadly, you aren't me, but you could be with me this saturday. >> he received a shocking reply after miss texas saw his old spice ask invite on youtube. >> luke, get excited because i will be able to meet you at the overton. >> jumping up and down in their shorts after hearing from miss texas. can you imagine that happening?

seems to be working now. >> sack story. >> it seems to show if you put out a good youtube video and asking for a date it works. this won't be the last. >> swallow your pride. >> should try that. i have to put up 30. >> be nice if they got together. like a reality sh jiity show in making. >> i'm richard lui. this is "early today," this, your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

well, apparently for some men, valentine's day just doesn't come soon enough. dozens of japanese men lined up in tokyo to publicly declare

or scream their undenying love. men often have trouble expressing their feelings shouting out to the world these men proved their passions for theirdoring wives in the audience before them. in new jersey teens have popped the lid off a new record. 366 high school students used 8,000 feet of bubble wrap to create a new record for the most people popping bubble wrap at once. it helped celebrate 50 years since popping material was invented. the students collected donations to benefit a charity for sandy hook elementary school. were they having fun. handsome, a new tumblr page for dogs. right there. take a look. mens wear dog show pooches dressed to the nines in designer label looks.

the blog has been hailed by "gq" magazine as man's best tumbler. >> not outfits were not too shabby. >> pretty looking goods. >> four legged pants is tough to pull off. the senate judiciary committee holds a hearing entitled what should america do about gun violence. we'll be watching that. among the witnesses testifying are wayne lapierre of the nra and captain mark kelly, the husband of gabby giffords, a victim of gun violence. and is expected to speak sass well. new orleans is beefing up security ahead of sunday's big game. 1300 federal agents and 3600 extra state troopers have been added. today, nfl officials will hold a news conference with homeland security secretary janet napolitano. and happy birthday to marcus mumford of mumford and sons. he tushs 26 today. old man. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments on those stories and the best political analysis

on msnbc. and tonight, be sure to watch "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. microsoft founder bill gates opens up about his charity, family and the future. and liza minnelli and cast of cabaret reunite to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, sports and more. i'm richard lui along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today." this, your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

we have gotten our hopes up, got let down by that. so we're skeptical.

>> could it be the break police have been waiting for? a san francisco cold case from 1984 gets a new look and the family talks to nbc bay area. >> plus, alex smith front and center on media day in new orleans. we'll let you know what he had to say about being replaced by colin kaepernick. >> and the local production that's showing niners pride tonight. >> right now a live look outside. that's from oakland, the port of oakland. get your engine started on this wednesday, january 30. this is "today in the bay." >> announcer: from nbc bay area this is "today in the bay." >> right now it's about 4:31. good morning. i'm john kelly. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's check the forecast with christina loren. no doubt sleeping in. rob? >> nice day for sleeping in. no fog, rain.